Returning Journey
by SakuraDrops93
Summary: [Sequel to Strange Things] Roxas and Namine are in opposite sides of each other. Who will reach one's heart first? My summary sucks. R&R Please.
1. The Switch

Light seeped through as Roxas slowly opened his eyes. He squinted, but then the light disappeared and was quickly replaced by ocean water. His eyes were now completely open and his heart was beating faster than an average athlete's heartbeat speed. He looked up and saw the sun's faint light shining down. _Huh? How am I able to even breathe? This MUST be a dream. _He tried to 'swim' but found that his body was paralyzed. He was unable to talk either. _This is too freaky! _He felt a flow of relief flood him as his feet touched the ground and that he was able to move again. He looked around. _It's so dark._

**"Can you feel Sora?" **a deep vice echoed.

Roxas heard the voice and took a step forward. But before he was able to respond, doves appeared from the floor he was standing on and flew in circles around him. He shielded himself. _What in the world is going on? _He felt the birds' wings leave his skin and took a small peek. He saw them leaving and watched them disappear from afar. _What was that all about? Why are there birds underwater? _

**"Wake up to another day," the voice said, "Start out fresh and clean."**

_What the heck is THAT supposed to mean? _Roxas felt a pang of pain in his head and froze. He fell on his knees and sighed as his whole body collapsed. _That hurt._

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sora," a soft voice called out, "Time to wake up."

_Sora? I'm not Sora. _Roxas awoke to find an oddly very familiar auburn-haired girl staring down at him. "Huh?" he asked numbly. _What the? My voice changed! _He slowly sat up and rubbed his throat.

"C'mon, sleepyhead!" the girl teased, "Riku's waiting. Hurry up and get dressed." She left without another word.

Roxas quickly ran to his mirror and nearly boy-screamed when he saw his reflection. His hair was brown and spiked all over the place, and... _I look like a stupid amateur! _He started to pant in his anxiety and did his best to calm himself down. "What's happening to me?" he asked out loud. He clenched his hair.

"Nothing," Riku said out of nowhere, "But if you don't hurry up, something WILL happen to you. Not in a good way." He smirked as the brunette boy turned to him, but then frowned as he looked into his blue eyes. He positioned himself to a fighting stance. "Who are you? And what did you do with Sora?"

Roxas looked at himself again. "I-I'm Roxas," he stammered, "And I don't know why I'm Sora and stuff. But I REALLY don't belong here! I belong in Twilight Town with...with..." He couldn't remember her name. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, and white dress he remembered clearly, but not her name. He sighed in defeat.

"Roxas?" Riku repeated. He looked at the figure before him and asked, "What are you doing here? You merged with Sora. And where's Namine? She can't be Kairi., could she?" He ran his hand through his long silver hair and laughed. "That would break Sora's heart."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That's why you have feelings for Namine." Riku rose an eyebrow teasingly. "Riiigghhht?"

Roxas blushed and looked at the wall next to him. "I do NOT have feelings for Namine. She's just my friend." _Namine... I miss her even though I don't really remember her that much._

"Right," Riku sarcastically toned, "Well anyway, we'd better figure out a way to get you and Sora back into your regular bodies."

"Y-yeah," Roxas said blankly, "Um...what's your name again?"

Riku cringed. _Oh, boy. This is going to be a long day._

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Sora's horrific shout echoed throughout Twilight Town. Everyone looked up at the building he was in and murmured to each other. "What happened to me? I'm blonde and skater-dressed!"

"Roxas!" Hayner called as he entered Sora's room, "Quit yelling! Everyone can hear you from miles away!" He looked at Sora suspiciously. "What are you screaming about anyway?"

Sora turned to face Hayner. "Oh, Hayner!" he gasped, "I'm not Roxas! It's me- Sora!" He pointed at himself, but only got a questioned look from the blonde. "Don't you remember me?"

Hayner shook his head. "Dude, I think you've gone mad this time. There's no one named Sora around here." He opened the door and walked out saying, "We'll be waiting for you at the alley."

Sora stood at his mirror, pale and wide-eyed. He eventually snapped out of his shock and changed into Roxas' clothes. "That's right," he mumbled, "Roxas' Twilight Town exists only in my memory. No one knows me here because I never came here through my own self." He put on his shoes and straightened his short-sleeved jacket. _I just hope Roxas is doing okay. Where could he be? _


	2. Sleeping Beauty?

Sora ran down to the back alley and found Hayner, Pence, Olette and Namine waiting for him. _Namine?_ He nearly gaped in surprise in seeing her with the group. "Hey...there," he greeted uncertainly. He received a knowing smile from Namine and shuddered.

"Do you guys mind if I can be alone with...ROXAS for a bit?" Namine asked the group nicely, "I need to tell him something really important." She smiled sweetly.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette snickered and whispered to each other. "Sure," Hayner answered almost too happily, take all the time you two LOVEBIRDS need." He laughed and ran off with Pence and Olette following close behind.

"It's not like that!" Sora protested, "We-"

"Sora," Namine interrupted, "You're here." She turned around to face him. "I was expecting you." She snapped her fingers and everything instantly turned pure white.

Sora looked around. He found himself inside a huge capsule/pod and sighed in dismay. "Not again," he mumbled, "How'd we end up here, anyway? I thought we were with Hayner and the gang." He tapped on the glass.

"It was all just an illusion, " Namine explained, "Don't forget- I have control over your memories and the memories of those around and/or close to you." She smiled as the capsule opened. "Meaning that I have complete power in this Twilight Town."

Sora jumped out of the capsule and breathed in a fresh breath of air. He exhaled, "Freedom at last." He stretched and turned to face Namine. "Can you fill me in on everything? I have no clue to what's going on what so ever."

"I had to rearrange Roxas' memories in a more complicated way." Namine reclosed the capsule and sighed. "So I put him to a deep sleep and you two switched hearts."

"Switched...hearts?" Sora repeated, obviously confused.

"Yes. Even though it may seem like you two switched bodies, you actually switched hearts." Namine placed a hand on where her heart was. "A heart carries everything that you are. However, I don't know how I know this since I don't have a heart." A tear trickled down her cheek at her own statement.

"H-hey," Sora stuttered, starting to panic at Namine's tears, "Don't cry. You DO have a heart. You just don't notice it because no one's reached out to it yet." He smiled uncertainly.

Namine looked at him and wiped away her tears. "Thanks, Sora." She smiled at him. "This must be how you and Kairi find each other...no matter how far the distance." She lead the way out and they both became happier when they saw Twilight Town after going through the dark woods.

"Lets go find Roxas," Sora suggested, eager to see Kairi again.

"Right," Namine chimed, sensing his rising feelings.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is boring," Roxas yawned as he watched Riku form a circle in the middle of the cold empty room using white sand, "Can we do something else?"

Riku popped a vein at Roxas' ignorance. "If you're at all CONCERNED, then you should know that this is all for you and Sora!" he shouted, "So help me out here if you want to be back in your own body and with Namine!" He picked up some more sand from the jar and made another circle inside the circle he just made.

Roxas pouted and huffed as he hopped out of the couch to help Riku finish the Ritual Ring. "Fine," he grumbled, obviously still bored. He picked up some sand from the jar as well and made a star with doubled hearts next to it inside the second circle. "How's that?"

Riku looked down at the ground and mumbled, holding his chin, "Hmm...sloppy, but it'll do." He smirked when he saw Roxas glare at him. "Just kidding. Now get in there and I'll do the incantation crap." He picked up a book from the couch and started to read as soon as Roxas ran inside the ring. "Ai...eh?"

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked impatiently, "I'm still Sora!"

"I'm trying here!" Riku replied angrily, "So shut up and let me read this crappy thing! These words are hard to pronounce, you know." He cleared his throat. "Aiko Letro Devjo." He sweatdropped when he found Roxas looking at him with a confused expression. "Uh... Two hearts within one. Let them be returned to the other...the separation undone." He snapped his fingers and blinding white light surrounded Roxas. "De-spell!"

Roxas shielded his eyes, yet took a peek at the glowing floor beneath his shoes. He fell on his knees and collapsed with a grunt. _I hope this works._

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sora and Namine went down to the Sandlot and found Seifer and his gang there. "Oh, no," Sora mumbled, "Not him." he scratched the back of his head nervously as Seifer, Fuu, Rai, and Vivi approached him and Namine.

"Looks like Chikenhead's back," Seifer mocked, "And with his girlfriend, too." He smirked as the three behind him laughed hysterically. "So what are doing here now? Wanna pick another fight with me?"

Sora was about to respond with a nasty comeback, but stopped when he felt his head spin and his body weaken. "H-huh?" he groaned and fell on the ground, unconscious.

"Sora!" Namine gasped, but then fell to her knees and hands when she felt her body pin down to the ground all of a sudden. "What's going on?" she murmured and fainted.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Light? Huh? I can hear myself think in my own voice. Did Riku's spell thing work? _Roxas slowly opened his eyes and found himself looking into Seifer's green eyes. "Seifer!" he yelped and quickly sat up. He quickly touched his hair and found them the way he spiked them- one way upward. _It worked! Yeah! _He smiled.

"I wouldn't be smiling if I were you," Seifer huffed and lead his gang and himself back to Station Heights.

_What did he mean by that? _Roxas looked to his right and saw an unconscious Namine on the ground, her body still. "Namine!" he yelled and rushed to her, shaking her frantically, trying to wake her up. "C'mon, Namine! Wake up!" He cupped her pale cheek and his pupils went down into miniature sizes when he found her cold. "Namine!" He was able to feel her breathing steadily, but was worried about her abnormally cold temperature. _What's wrong with her? Is she sick? Is she even still mentally alive?_

"Roxas!" Hayner called, but then ran towards his best friend when he saw the sleeping girl in his arms. "What happened to Namine?" He grinned. "Talk about Sleeping Beauty."

"Shut up and just help me out, will ya?" Roxas snapped, picking up Namine bridal style. _She's as light as a feather! _He let Hayner lead the way to the Back Alley.


	3. Take My Heart

"So what did you do to her, Roxas?" Pence asked suspiciously.

"For the last time, I didn't do a damn thing!" Roxas growled, "I just found her on the ground like this!" He pointed at Namine's lifeless form. "I don't know what happened to her."

"Sure you don't," Hayner mumbled sarcastically.

"She sure is cold," Olette informed the boys, a worried look on her face. "It's like she's been put inside a fridge and was turned into ice." She tried to touch Namine's forehead, but quickly snapped her hand back like the girl was on fire. "I can't touch her! It's like she's got stingers or something."

"What?" Hayner and Pence asked at the same time, surprised.

Roxas looked at Namine and shook his head. "She doesn't have stingers," he said, "She's just so cold that anything or anyone near her will instantly feel her temperature. Think of her as a 'crystallized maiden'. Only that she's really cold and jagged." He sighed. "What could've done this to her?"

"Who knows?" Pence remarked, "But who or whatever did, was really merciless. She could end up dying like this."

Roxas glared at him. "Not if I can help it!" He picked up Namine, ignoring the painful ice that entered his skin. "I'll try and take care of her in any way I can." He carried her back to his house.

"You guys are SO insensitive!" Olette hissed at Hayner and Pence, "Can't you tell that Roxas is in love with Namine?"

"Sorry," Pence said solemnly,"I didn't mean to hurt him like that. I was just being honest."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roxas laid Namine down on his bed and sat down on a chair beside her. _Don't die on me, Namine. I need you. You're one of my bestest friends and I...I really like you. But I just wish that I could be something more to you. _He sighed and buried his face in his arms that were resting on his bed. "But I just can't," he whispered.

Light. Roxas rose and found himself standing in the middle of a room with a white, circular platform below him. _What the heck just happened? One second I'm in my room, the next...I'm in HERE! _He looked to his left and saw a flight of spiraling stairs leading downward. "Where do you lead to?" he asked and walked it.

**"Don't stop walking," **a voice whispered, echoing around the stunned blonde**, "You will find the person you seek. All it takes is courage."**

"Who's there?" Roxas asked boldly, not halting in his tracks. He turned around and found the steps behind him melting away. "Shoot!" He quickly turned back around and ran down the stairs. He was only a few feet from the ground, but the steps beneath him vanished, and he landed on the glass floor with a small thud. "Ow," he moaned and rubbed his throbbing head. He looked up ahead and found a very familiar figure imprisoned inside a block of ice. He took a closer look and cried out, "Namine!"

Namine seemed to have heard his call because she opened her eyes and looked at him longingly. "Roxas," she begged, "Please, help me. I don't have much time." She reached out to him, but only managed to touch the walls of the solid ice block.

"Namine, what happened?" Roxas asked, connecting his finger tips with hers through the transparent wall. "Why are you in there?"

"I was just with Sora walking down in the Sandlot, but then he collapsed. I ran over to help him, but felt as if though my heart was litreally stolen and ended up here. It's so cold..." She sniffed as tears flowed from her shimmering blue eyes. "This may be the end for me." She pushed herself away from the wall and floated freely in the block.

"Don't say that!" Roxas chided, "It's not the end!" He watched her disappear further into the darkness. "I'm here for you, Namine! Now and forever! And I won't give up until I get you out of here and back into the real world!" He pounded his fist on the icy wall, but hissed when pain shot through his hand. _It's not working! _He suddenly felt a jolt of energy run through his whole body. He looked at his hand and a keyblade appeared in it. Without thinking much about it, he struck the ice prison.

"Oh," Namine gasped lightly. She watched him strike the persistent wall repeatedly and smiled. _You try so hard, Roxas. Am I really THAT important to you? _Everything around her started to glow. She felt Roxas strike the wall one last time and everything shattered to the floor. She felt herself leave the air and head for the ground, but then sighed with relief when she saw that Roxas had caught her. She looked up at him and he smiled at her. She blushed and said, "Thank you."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roxas brought his head back up again and found himself back inside his room. He looked towards Namine and found her still asleep. He felt his heart drop. _It was all just a dream. _He looked down at her and leaned down close to her ear. He felt her warm breath on his neck and whispered softly, "I'm sorry." He nearly jumped when he felt a warm hand on his arm. He pulled away slightly and found that she was awake...and warm! "Namine!"

Namine sat up and touched her chest, feeling her heartbeat. "Sora was right," she mumbled, "I DO have a heart. I just never took notice until someone reached out to it. That someone...is you, Roxas." She smiled fondly at him. "Thank you." She gave him a hug.

"I'm just glad that you're back," Roxas replied. He was confused when Nmaine slightly pulled away from him and looked at him in the eye. "What's wrong?" He instantly froze when she gently placed his lips on hers. _What's going on? Is she KISSING me? For real? _He felt his face heat up and his heartbeat quicken.

Namine felt his body tense in her kiss and broke away. "I'm sorry," she apologized, blushing furiously, "I let my feelings and emotions get the best of me again." She looked away. _I can't believe I did that. He probably hates me right now. _She gasped as she felt her head being gently turned around and looked into Roxas' deep blue eyes. "U-huh?"

"Don't apologize," Roxas whispered, "You've granted my greatest wish." He leaned forward and kissed Namine lovingly, running his hands through her silky blonde hair. _Thank you...Namine. _He pulled away for some air and asked, "So what happened to you?"

Namine was still blushing and timidly answered, "Someone must've casted some spell or something. That was probably the cause because there IS no other explanation."

"I hope it wasn't Riku."

"What?"

"You see, Riku and I formed some sort of a ritual to get me and Sora back to our original bodies. It must've had an effect on you, too." Roxas looked down. "I'm sorry."

At first, Namine's expression was that of shock and disbelief, but then she flashed a smile. "Why did you want to be back so bad?"

"Because I...I missed you. Even though it wasn't a long time, I already missed you. I guess what I'm trying to say is that...um...I-I love you." Roxas forced himself to look into the blonde girl's eyes when he said the last three words. "I really do love you."

Namine giggled and gave him a quick kiss. "I love you, too."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Again, corny! Waaahhh! I just can't help it! Romantic corniness became a habit after reading some fics. Hmmm...**


End file.
